Orlando Darling
Advised by Laura Coombs
Type II, Spring 2024
Orlando Darling Spreads
Overview of Book Layout
Orlando Darling combines Orlando by Virginia Woolf and Candy Darling, by Candy Darling. The project maps gender and intimacy through a system which places type and images in relation to their perceived femininity vs. masculinity and their proximity to the author.
Text and Image Placement System
At the basis of the transgender identity is the idea of change. In reflecting on both novels which are synthesized through this book I was surprised to identify how little these characters changed internally despite the torrent of changes which faced them externally. Both Orlando and Candy are transgender, but this does not define their identity in the slightest. They are poets, movie stars, singers, artists… ect, they are not defined by this change.
Reference Images of Candy Darling and Vita Sackville-West (Woolf’s friend whom Orlando was modeled after)
While both characters are transgender, they have very different relationships to their gender. Orlando’s change in gender was thrust upon them through a divine force and separate from their own intentions. Orlando however, reacted with extreme indifference, no more than if they had changed clothes. The challenge for Orlando, more so than their internal relationship to gender, was the external shift in expectation which was placed onto them in relation to their presentation as a woman. What I love about this interpretation of gender is the lack of explanation it provides. Orlando’s gender changes. Why? It is unimportant. It is magical and fantastic and feels no need to be logical or be justified by a logical reason.
My Journal Entries with Notes on Orlando and Candy
Candy examines her gender with much more scrutiny. Rather than having this change placed upon her she takes an active role in the change. Along with the more modern interpretation of gender which she possesses, her active role results in the repeated questioning both internal and external on her gender. As the discourse on gender is more open in her modern era, her gender is much more of a public point compared to Orlando. Candy juxtaposes Orlando with her gritty picture of the trans experience compared to Orlando’s fantastical four hundred year life.
Through this book I seek to open a wide lens into the trans experience through these two individuals’ stories, experiences, and both wholly magical lives.
Typefaces: Cormorant Garamond and Ivory Display